


Superman

by annajustice



Series: They're Good Together [10]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29169354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annajustice/pseuds/annajustice
Summary: Jay and Hailey are a part of an officer involved shooting, the aftermath puts Hailey in a very dangerous situation, causing her and Jay’s lives to be at risk. (Pre-Established Upstead)
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: They're Good Together [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138988
Comments: 5
Kudos: 93





	1. Superman

“5021 George, we are in pursuit of the offender on foot. The offender is armed, all units advised. Send back up to the corner of Garden and North Malcom.” Jay said into his radio as he and Hailey raced down an alleyway. They were in a nicer part of town, the streets were more open and Jay could see an open field at the end. “Hailey, I’m gonna cut him off.” Jay called out to his partner, before darting out of the opening. He beat them to the end, taking off as the offender exited the alleyway. 

Jay sprinted towards the large man, tackling him to the ground. He knew he had a gun, but it was his only choice. They rolled across the grass, Jay immediately trying to get the upper hand. Hailey caught up, drawing her weapon. “Chicago P.D. Stand down!” She shouted from yards away.

The offender was restless, flipping them so that Jay was pinned underneath. Jay kicked him in the groin and knocked the gun out of his hand. Neither of the men had noticed Hailey’s presence, and when Jay reached behind him to grab the gun, the man punched square in the jaw, disorienting him. The man smiled, standing and grabbing his gun, pointing it at Jay. 

There was a loud pop, followed by a thud. Jay sat up immediately, seeing his partner with her gun raised. “You good?” She called out, racing towards him. 

“Yeah.” Jay said, jumping up and kicking the gun away. He wiped the blood from his nose as he checked the guys pulse, he was gone. 

Hailey sighed as she reached her partner, “That was stupid.” She said sternly.

Jay nodded, “Yeah, I know.” He looked her in the eye, holding their gaze, almost like a silent apology for scaring her like that. They were interrupted by the sounds of sirens. Patrol had made it to the scene. Pretty soon the field was flooded with officers and crime techs. 

“What happened?” Voight asked, finally arriving on scene. 

Hailey shrugged, “He ran as soon as we knocked on the door, Jay tackled him, he had a gun. It was us or him.” She explained. Jay nodded, backing her up.

Voight gave them a short nod, “Well, I guess that’s justice. Let’s head back, we’re back to square one.” The two nodded, bidding him goodbye and walking back to their rig.

They had been working the case a few days, it was a quadruple rape and homicide. The offender they were chasing was Jason Forbes, they knew he was one of them abusers because his DNA was found on all four victims, but now they were looking for his partner. 

Jay jumped in the driver's seat of the truck, Hailey following suit on the other side. “Thanks,” He said, once they were settled. “For earlier…”

“Yeah, Of course.” Hailey said, smiling at him. “You're my partner, I’ve always got your back.”

**…**

It was a long day full of almost no leads, it was like the trail died with Jason. There wasn’t even anything to chase down. All they had was everything they knew above Jason, and no one he knew met any of the criteria they were looking for. No one looked good. 

Eventually, Voight told them to all go home and get some rest. Hailey suggested getting a drink, Jay didn’t do well cases involving children, especially rape cases. Plus, she knew he was beating himself up over his attempted arrest earlier. They agreed to meet at the pub a few blocks away from Hailey’s apartment. It had become their own personal Molly’s. 

They sat at a high table near the back, the only thing it was near was the old fashioned jukebox, that they were both sure didn’t work. “How’s your nose?” Hailey asked, taking a sip of her beer.

Jay chuckled, “Fine, thanks.” 

Hailey put her hands up in surrender, “I’m being serious, he hit you pretty hard.” She was trying to hide her genuine concern behind the humor, cause she couldn’t get the image of that man standing over him with a gun out of her head. 

“I’m a little sore.” Jay admitted, sighing. “But, I’m fine. Thanks to you.” He smiled softly, making direct eye contact yet again. 

Hailey shook her head, averting her gaze. “You’re acting like I took a bullet for you.” 

Jay shrugged, “Close enough.” 

They sat in silence for a few moments, neither of them really knew what to say. There was a cloud looming over the table. It wasn’t lost on Hailey that if she had been just 10 seconds later, Jay might be dead. And Jay knew how close he came to death today, just because he overestimated his own abilities. They came close to losing each other, but wasn’t that the job? It wasn’t a new thing, but it felt different. 

About an hour later, they walked out of the bar. Heading towards the parking lot to their separate cars. Jay walked a little behind her, he wasn’t ready to part ways yet, but he didn’t know how else to make her stay with him. “Hailey-” He started, but something caught his eye.

“Yeah?” She asked, turning around.

A car passing on the street slowed slightly, the back seat window rolled down and Jay saw the tip of a long gun. “Hailey, get down!” He shouted, sprinting and tackling her to the ground. Bullet after bullet hit the brick wall behind them as Jay used his entire body to shield her from the fire. When the assault finally stopped, they both waited a few seconds before sitting up. Jay grabbed Hailey’s shoulders, scanning her body. “Are you okay? Are you hit?”

He subconsciously placed a hand on her cheek, running his thumb over the pavement burn just above her jawline. Hailey placed her hand over his, “I-I’m fine. Are you okay? What the hell just happened?” She asked, taking his hand as he helped her stand. 

“I-I don’t know. I saw the gun and-” Hailey cut him off by launching herself into his arms, wrapping hers tightly around him. Jay hugged her back immediately, holding her close. She was shaking, Jay combed his fingers through her hair. “Hey, it’s okay. We're okay.” They stood there, wrapped up in each other for a few minutes before a patrol car rolled up. 

“We got a call of shots fired?” The guy asked, stepping out of the car. 

Jay pulled up the bottom of his shirt, showing the officer his badge. “Yeah, a black SUV rolled by and just started shooting, I couldn’t get plates.” 

While Jay talked to patrol, Hailey looked around, finding a set of security cameras. “Hey Jay!” She called out, she got his attention immediately. “We should check with the owner and see if these work.” She said, pointing up at them. 

Jay nodded, “You guys call for backup, I’m gonna go talk to the owner and call my sergeant.” He ordered, clicking on Voight’s contact information. It was going to be a long night. 

**…**

“Matthew Zimmerman.” Kim said, taping his picture to the board. “That’s who the car is registered to. Now, there is no obvious connection between him and Jason Forbes other than them being in the same facebook chat room.” 

Kevin turns his computer screen so that they can all gather behind it. “We didn’t find it before, because somehow Jason was able to make it unassessable on all his devices. It’s called the Misunderstood Brotherhood, and it is an invitation only, unmarked room. So you can only get in with a code from an invite.” 

Kim continued, “We searched through all of the members and there are near 75 in the Chicago area, many of which are registered sex offenders or have previous allegations against them.” 

“So, it’s a bragging ground for rapists?” Jay snapped, leaning on Hailey’s desk and crossing his arms. 

“Sort of.” Kim said.

“Most of the messages are pretty disturbing, they talk about urges and possible intent, but they are smart. There is nothing specifically incriminating, well, except for this.” Kevin scrolled through the chat, stopping so they could all read the bolded message. “This was posted yesterday afternoon.”

**_This morning, one of our brothers, Jason forbes, was shot and killed by Hailey Upton. A Detective in the Intelligence Unit out of the 21st district, badge #55055. We will not stand for this and we must avenge his death. The brotherhood will award a $100,000 reward to anyone who can eliminate the officer as a threat. Do us proud._ **

Hailey gasped, taking a step back. Her back hit her partner’s side, who instinctively wrapped a protective arm around her waist. “Holy shit.” Adam said.

“So last night, that was a hit?” Hailey asked shakily. 

Kim nodded, “It looks like it, and we can assume at least 200 other people have seen this message.”

Voight took over from there. “Alright, we need to get Hailey to a safe house. Halstead, you’ll go with her. I’m gonna call the ivory tower, they are gonna want to be in the loop.”

As soon as Voight shut the door to his office, Adam stood. “Maybe I should go with Hailey.”

Jay scoffed, “What?”

“I’m just saying, your head doesn’t really seem in the game.” Adam snapped, Jay’s arm wrapped around Hailey catching his attention.

“Do I need to talk to you?” Jay asked, his jaw clenched.

“Jay-”

Jay took a step forward, “Where the hell do you get off?” Jay asked, seething. “She’s _ my  _ partner.”

“She’s not  _ yours, _ Jay.” Adam said, getting in Jay’s face.

Hailey stepped forward, holding her hand up to Adam. “I’m not anyones,” She snapped. Jay took it as a chance to step back, the last thing he wanted to do was piss Hailey off. Hailey glared at Adam, shaking her head. She didn’t understand why he was causing such a scene. She turned to Jay, “Let’s get our stuff.” She stormed off to the locker room, Jay hot on her tail. She turned around exasperated when she entered the room, Jay cracked the door behind them. “What the hell was that?” She whisper yelled.

“I’m sorry-”

Hailey cut him off, “I won’t be the prize you two sword fight over. That was incredibly embarrassing, if Voight had been out there, there would be hell to pay.”

Jay slouched in defeat. “I know, I’m sorry. He just makes me so mad sometimes.” 

“Jay.” She said, “Do you really think I would have let Adam come with me over you?”

Jay sighed, “No.” 

Hailey stuck her arms out at her sides, emphasizing his statement. “Thank you.” She collapsed onto the bench behind her, running a hand through her hair. Jay cautiously walked toward her, sitting down about a foot away and leaning on his hands. Her fast mood changed, scaring him a bit. Hailey sighed, running her hands over her face. “There’s a bounty on my head.” 

Jay shifted a little closer to her, letting his hand rest on her back. “We’ll get through it.” 

Hailey looked up at him, something about the way he said  _ we _ made her heart skip a beat. Before she could say anything, the door swung open and revealed Kevin. “Hey, you guys ready to go?”

Hailey jumped up immediately, sniffling. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

**…**

Three unmarked cars and a safety evaluation later, Hailey found herself sitting on a not so comfortable couch. For their own safety, neither of them knew quite where they were. There were alarms on all the windows and doors, so if someone tried to break in the team sitting in the house would immediately be alerted. 

Jay was pacing, his hands on his hips. Hailey huffed, “Are you gonna do that all night?” She asked.

“Maybe.” He deadpanned. 

Hailey rolled her eyes, “Can you please just come sit down.” She asked. 

Jay sighed, admitting defeat and sitting on the other side of the couch. “Better?”

Hailey smiled, “Much.” 

They sat in silence for a while, deciding to turn on the TV in front of them, not that there was anything good on. Jay snuck glances at his partner, even though he had been seeing more and more of it lately, it was nice to see her so casual. She had on leggings and a sweatshirt, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Her sock covered feet pulled up on the couch and tucked under her as she watched the screen absently. Jay watched the way the colors danced over her face in the dark room, smiling softly. He swore she got more beautiful everyday. 

Hailey looked over at him, blushing slightly when she found his gaze already on her. “What?”

Jay coughed, “Nothing.” He could see the gears in her head turning from across the couch. “What are you thinking about?” He asked.

“Eh, I don’t know,” Hailey shrugged, smiling weakly at him. “That we’re even now.” 

Jay chuckled, “Yeah, I guess we are.”

“I-” Hailey started, “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.” She looked down at her hands, feeling her eyes well up. “I know we put our lives on the line everyday, but…” Jay held his breath, her heart aching for her. “I could’ve died last night. I could have died last night, and you could’ve too, and that would have been my fault.”

“Hailey-”

“No Jay,” She said, looking at him with teary eyes. “You can’t talk yourself out of this one. You put yourself between me and a gunman and I just, I don’t understand.”

Jay shifted, moving a little closer to her. “Hailey. I will never not protect you.” 

Hailey sucked in a breath, his gaze hot on her skin. They had never been quiet about trusting each other, they both knew they would follow the other anywhere, that at the end of the day, they would be there for each other. But this, this was new. Not to him, he had always protected her, but for the first time in a while Hailey got a glimpse at how much she really meant to him. “I, uh, It’s getting late.” She rushed out, looking at her hands again. “We should get some sleep.” She stood, glancing back at him. 

“Uh, I’ll take the couch, you take the bed.” He busied himself gathering pillows from the other chairs and grabbing the throw blanket off the back, trying not to think about Hailey’s complete dismissal of his previous statement.

“Jay.” She said, and his head snapped up. “Are you really going to make me sleep alone tonight?” It was forward, she would admit. But the thought of sleeping alone in some random house while people were literally racing to kill her, wasn’t so appealing.

He stood, shaking his head. “No.” 

Hailey smiled, letting him follow her to the hotel-like bedroom. It was a big enough bed for two people, thankfully. Hailey pulled back the covers and climbed it, she hadn’t slept in over 48 hours and she was feeling it for sure. Jay climbed in cautiously, glad that he had a pair of sweatpants in his overnight bag and he didn’t have to sleep in his jeans. They laid on complete opposite sides of the bed facing each other. “Goodnight Jay.” Hailey said quietly.

“Goodnight Hailey.” 

**…**

Jay woke up in the middle of the night, needing to pee. When he registered where he was, he noticed that he wasn’t alone. Hailey’s back was pressed against his chest and his arm was wrapped around her waist. He smiled to himself, careful not to wake her as he climbed out. 

The bathroom light was blinding as he flipped it on, waking him all the way up, he noticed he had creases all over his arms from the blanket.  _ Means it was a good sleep.  _ He thought, grinning. Honestly, he was surprised he was sleeping so well, given the circumstances. He guessed he was more dependent on Hailey than he thought, she really did calm him. 

He did his business quickly, itching to get back in bed and enjoy his partners embrace, even if it was for just one night. He was halfway back to the bedroom when he heard a loud crash. He took off running, and when he reached the bedroom, he saw a masked man standing in front of the broken window, staring a Hailey. 

The man took a step forward, not noticing Jay’s presence. Hailey woke up confused, screaming for Jay when she saw the man. “Get away from her.” He yelled, charging forward. The man pulled a gun, but Jay kept going.

“Jay!” Hailey screamed again, thinking her partner was crazy. 

Jay grabbed the gun, ripping it out of the guy's hand and punching square in the jaw. He tossed it on the bed, “The safety was on.” He said, getting on the top of the guy and flipping him on his stomach. Hailey jumped up and ran to her belt across the room, grabbing a pair of handcuffs and handing them to Jay. Jay cuffed the guy and pulled the mask off, revealing a younger man. Jay stood him up, “Let’s go in the kitchen, we don’t know if there are more coming.” 

Hailey nodded, following behind him. She removed the rounds from the gun and placed it on the counter, watching Jay sit the guy down on the floor. A few minutes later there was commotion outside and the pair immediately raised their guns. “Chicago P.D!” Someone yelled and they both sighed, relaxing. The rescue team kicked the door in and was surprised to find the duo alive and well on the other side. 

Jay picked the guy up off the ground and handed him over. “He came in through the bedroom window.” The detective nodded, hauling him out of the house. 

As part of protocol, Jay and Hailey were both checked out by paramedics. They went over details with the detectives and their team, hopefully giving the information they needed to get ahead of and take down the brotherhood. Eventually they found themselves in the back of another unmarked car, Hailey leaning into Jay’s side, she was physically and emotionally exhausted, way too exhausted to worry about how things might look or come across.

Jay held her close to him, letting his thumb rub over the fabric of her sweatshirt. Hailey yawned, “You really have been playing superman today.” She said groggily. 

“Yeah?” Jay asked, smirking.

“Yeah, you’re pretty good at it.” Hailey confessed, leaning further into him. “But don’t quit your day job.” 

Jay smiled, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I couldn’t leave you stranded like that.”

Hailey smiled contently, “You better not, good partners are hard to find.” 

  
“Yeah they are.” Jay agreed, hugging her closer. Good  _ partners  _ were hard to find.


	2. My Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay and Hailey are a part of an officer involved shooting, the aftermath puts Hailey in a very dangerous situation, causing her and Jay’s lives to be at risk. (Pre-Established Upstead)

Jay rolled over, groaning as he reached for his phone. He shut the alarm off quickly, turning back over to and reaching across the bed. His hand hit the cold mattress, waking him up. Jay laid flat on his back, running his hand over his face. He groaned again, the pit in his stomach growing at his own stupidity. It was the first time in a week that he had woken up alone, and for a minute he had forgotten that he was back to reality.

He reluctantly threw the covers off, immediately missing the warmth, but it wasn’t quite as warm as it had been the day before. The walk to the kitchen was dark and lonely, Jay squinting as he flipped on the lights as he went. When he reached his small kitchen he sighed, trying not to think about the empty coffee pot. Yesterday it would have been full. He filled the filter and turned it on before turning and heading back to his bedroom. 

He pushed the bathroom door open, ignoring his depressed look in the mirror. He turned on the water in his single stall shower,  _ not _ taking notice of the lack of products on the rack. Jay ran a hand through his tousled hair, he needed to get himself together.

After the safehouse was broken into, he and Hailey were moved to a new one. They insisted Jay be put in protective custody as well, since he was now a (potential/connected) victim of the hit list. He insisted they be placed together and Hailey didn’t object, the lead detective on their case obliged and soon they were sitting together on a different uncomfortable couch. 

The entire experience was surreal to say the least, it felt like living in an alternate reality. They fell into a routine almost. There was an unspoken agreement between the two of them: they would sleep in the same bed, wake up in each other’s arms, Hailey would make coffee, Jay would make breakfast and neither of them said a word. Why would they? It was easy, it felt natural and it was perfect. 

So, for a week the two of them played house while their team worked on taking down the brotherhood, and most importantly the post that put a bounty on his partner’s head. The day before they had finally caught a break in the case, finding the chain that led to the Kingpin and the owner of the chat. After a long interrogation, they had enough to charge and enough to solve multiple other cold cases in the area, and the post was taken down. 

Once their lives were no longer in danger, Jay and Hailey were released from protective custody and sent home to their own  _ separate  _ houses. Jay drove her back to the bar where it all started, her car was still there. They bid goodbye in the parking lot, Hailey giving him a kind smile before climbing in her car. It felt so wrong after a week of living the way they were. 

The cold water pulled him out of his trance, Jay shivered, shutting it off and reaching for his towel. Soon he was all ready for work, grabbing his keys and high tailing it out of his lonely apartment. He cursed himself for getting so attached, for getting used to their new dynamic. Because nothing had changed, it wasn’t real and now, it was over.

**...**

Hailey was already awake when her alarm went off. She was sitting on her couch, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in her hand. She hadn’t slept well the night before. Her insomnia set in at around 3:00 that morning, and she had come to terms with the fact that a good amount of rest was a lost cause. 

She hit the button glowing on the screen, tossing her phone on the coffee table in front of her. For a second she waited for the familiar sound of shuffling feet, but then remembered her lack of sleep. She slept alone last night, or more like didn’t. Before the past week, it had been a long time since she woke up tangled with someone else, but she had no doubt that her return to a normal sleep schedule was a product of just that. 

Hailey stood, padding into her kitchen to get another cup of coffee…

_ “You good?” Jay asked from his perch on a barstool. If Hailey had a dime for everytime he had asked her that in the past few days, they’d be hiding out on a yacht.  _

_ Hailey nodded, picking up the coffee pot and refilling her mug. “Yeah, why?” She asked, turning around to lean against the counter opposite of him.  _

_ Jay grinned, gesturing to the cup in her hand. “That’s your third cup this morning.”  _

_ “You keeping tabs on my coffee intake?” Hailey teased, cocking an eyebrow at him. _

_ Jay stood, laughing. He made his way to the sink beside her, dropping it in. “Maybe. You don’t need it stunting your growth.” _

_ Hailey’s jaw dropped, a laugh bellowing out of her. She slapped his bicep (taking note of how much her hand stung afterward: damn) as he lept away, he knew what was coming. “You better sleep with one eye open tonight.” Jay held up his hands in surrender, backing away slowly. “I’m serious.” _

She leaned against the counter, smiling to herself. That was how the whole week had gone, jokes, banter and lots of cuddling. If there was a line before, it was now so blurred that it might be broken. They were inseparable, you would think that being stuck in a house with someone for a week would make you want to kill each other, but not them. The only time either of them were truly alone was when they were in the bathroom. And even then, the amount of times one of them snuck in to get something while the other one was showering was unreal. 

_ Hailey cautiously approached the bathroom door, grimacing to herself as she knocked. “Jay.” She called, hand on the handle. _

_ “Yeah.” He shouted over the running water, it was much louder than it needed to be and Hailey chuckled to herself.  _

_ “Can I come in? I need my meds, I left them on the counter.” She asked. _

_ “Sure.” He said. Hailey felt flushed as she pushed the door open, steam filling the bedroom. It clicked behind her and even though there was a curtain covering him, Hailey avoided looking towards the shower at all. She made it to the vanity, rummaging through her toiletry bag and ignoring how red her face was in the mirror.  _

_ There was a thud, the noise of lots of water hitting the shower floor. Hailey’s mind wandered to what could’ve made the noise, the image of him running his hands through his wet hair as water cascaded around him gracing her mind. Hailey wasn’t paying attention, causing her to knock her bag as well as his shaving cream to the floor. “Shit.” She muttered. _

_ “Hailey.” He said, “You good?” He asked, she looked up from her crouching position on the floor to see him poking his head and one shoulder out. She froze, her eyes trained on the droplets of water sitting where freckles normally were. _

_ “Yeah.” She said, jumping up clutching his shaving cream. “Uh, this fell.”  _

_ Jay eyed her funny, “Okay.” Hailey didn’t move. “I’ll be out in a minute.”  _

_ Hailey nodded, “See you then.” She turned and grabbed her medicine, booking it out of there. _

She splashed some cold water on her face after brushing her teeth, she needed to snap out of it. Of course, the whole situation was disorienting. She had admitted a long time ago that she had feelings for her partner, or at least she admitted them to herself. And after the week they had, she thought maybe he felt the same way, but he never said anything. He said everything else, they talked so much, they both opened up so much, but he kept his mouth shut about  _ that _ .

She even gave him a chance. It was a few days in and they were laying in bed. She was facing him, laying on her arm. There were several feet between them, but she could still feel the heat radiating off of him. 

_ Hailey watched Jay roll onto his back, running his hands over his face. “I’m sorry.” He groaned out, looking at her with a sad look.  _

_ Hailey shifted, leaning on her elbow. “For what?” _

_ Jay sighed, “Dumping all this on you. You didn’t sign up for me complaining about my ex for an hour.” They had both decided they were tired, even if it was only 9:00, but once their heads hit the pillow all they could do was laugh, and they were both wide awake. Teasing had turned to talking, which led to Hailey attentively listening to Jay finally open up about his relationship with Erin.  _

_ She reached out, placing her hand over his as it rested on his stomach. Jay watched her cautiously, noticing as she moved closer to him. “Jay.” She said, “I am here for you. If you ever want to talk, I will always want to listen.”  _

_ He smiled at her, “I know.” He squeezed her hand. “Me too.”  _

_ Hailey rolled onto her back beside him, only turning her head to face them. “I didn’t know any of that.” She confessed, “About Lindsay, I mean. I knew you guys had broken up, but no one ever mentions it.”  _

_ Jay nodded, “Yeah. It’s kind of one of those things we all ignore. It’s been so long.” He turned his head to face her. “You know, nothing good ever comes out of a workplace relationship.”  _

_ Hailey faked a smile, turning away. A week ago she would have agreed with him, she would have just let it go. But laying next to him, feeling what she felt, she couldn’t. “Not always.” She said. “Maybe, if two people are just...right for each other, it doesn’t matter the circumstances.” She took a risk and looked over at him, surprised to find his gaze on her, a small smile on his lips. _

_ “Yeah, maybe.” _

Hailey shrugged on her jacket, grabbing her keys off the hook by the door. She gathered her things and headed out the door, and she felt like she was going back in time.

**…**

Hailey pulled into the parking lot, spotting Jay’s truck immediately (not that she was looking for it). It was odd that he ever beat her there, he must have been having a good morning. She headed inside, hoping to brush past their jem of a desk sergeant. “Hey blondie.” Mission failed.

“Hey serge.” Hailey said, stopping at the base of the stairs. She gave her a pointed look. 

Trudy shrugged, “Oh nothing. Just glad to see you survived a week trapped with chuckles.” She said, smirking. 

Hailey shook her head, before heading up the stairs. “Barely.” She said over her shoulder, which was bullshit, but Trudy didn’t know that. She buzzed herself up, climbing the stairs quickly. It felt good to be back, being off duty was never fun. Her eyes met Jay’s immediately and he gave her a bright smile that she quickly returned. 

“Good to see you Hailey.” Kim said, interrupting their wordless conversation. 

Hailey nodded, “You too, I’m glad to be back.” Kevin looked up from his desk, reaching out and fist bumping her she walked by, while Adam gave her a short wave from the breakroom. “Hey.” she said quietly as she reached her desk, taking a seat in front of her partner.

“Hey.” Jay said, lifting a cup of coffee over their monitors. “Here.” 

_ Nothing has changed. _

Hailey smiled, taking the cup graciously. “Just so you know, this is only my fourth cup today.” 

“Hailey.” Jay said, shaking his head. “You have a problem.”

Hailey laughed, holding a finger to her lips and making a “shhh” sound. A second later, Voight exited his office. “Upton,” He said, “Glad to have you back.” 

“Glad to be back.” She said, settling in her seat. 

Jay watched her, back in her natural habitat. It was strange watching her walk in, it seemed to always be him that was the last one up, but he couldn’t complain. He loved watching her blonde ponytail swing as she walked, he loved watching how naturally she floated through the room. 

They spent the next ten minutes being caught up on the current take home case, this one being a series of drug overdoses. Jay had a CI he thought was connected and had gotten the go ahead from Voight to chase the lead. He was about to tell Hailey, but Adam beat him to it. 

“Hey Hailey.” He called across the room, approaching their desks. 

Hailey looked up, “Yeah.” 

“You remember that warehouse we searched once? Found the kilo of heroin? You called dispatch, do you remember the address?” He asked. 

Hailey nodded. “Yeah.” Adam started again, but Hailey held up a finger and grabbed a sticky note from the corner of her desk. She stood slightly, reaching over Jay’s monitor and grabbing a pen out of his holder. She scribbled down the address and handed it to him. “Go check it out with Kev.” She said. 

Jay smirked, watching Adam thank you and then retreat to his own desk. 

_ Nothing has changed. _

“Wanna go meet a CI with me?” He asked, standing. 

Hailey jumped up immediately, “Of course.” 

**…**

It was a long day, they chased lead after lead that basically went nowhere. Finally, Voight decided they weren’t getting anywhere and sent everyone home. Hailey collapsed on her couch at almost eleven, debating just sleeping there. She was exhausted. 

The day had been emotionally draining as well, she spent the whole day convincing herself that her and Jay were fine, and while they most definitely were, there was a little voice in the back of her head that was telling her she had ruined everything. She had never felt more insecure in her life. 

Maybe hearing about Erin was part of it. Within’ Intelligence, the only time she was spoken of was when they were all reliving their greatest hits. Like the time they pulled off a drug bust and destroyed an OT pickup or the time she saved Jay from a heavy hitter with only a polypropylene switchblade, she was a total badass. That wasn’t a secret, and Hailey had never felt like she had to live up to her memory. 

But now she knew a different side of her, she knew how deeply Jay had loved her and how much it had destroyed him. How could she ever expect him to put himself on the line like that again, for his partner none-the-less. 

The doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She smiled as she pushed herself off the couch, there was only one person who would show up this late unannounced. She pulled the door open, immediately meeting his bright green eyes. He held up a pizza box, “I figured you hadn’t eaten.” 

“My hero.” She said, stepping back to let him in. 

Jay laughed, heading straight for the living room. Hailey stopped in the kitchen to grab plates and beers. She made it in time to watch him fall back onto the couch. He sighed dramatically, “I’ve missed you.” He said, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. 

Hailey chuckled, settling in next to him. “Feels good to be home, doesn’t it?” She asked.

Jay flattened his cheek against the couch to look at her. “Yeah.” He wanted to say no, that it felt good to be there, because home was wherever she was, but he kept his mouth shut. He had thought back to their conversation a few nights before many times, he read between all the lines, replayed the words over and over again. And he was almost convinced she was talking about them, but here they were several days later and  _ nothing had changed. _

Had it though? He caught himself today, smiling a little bigger, laughing a little louder, he felt lighter. Like he was riding a high, a Hailey high and he couldn’t complain. 

Hailey stood, grabbing her already empty beer bottle. “You want another?” She asked, heading towards the kitchen. 

“No.” Jay said, “thanks though.” He took a beat. “Actually,” He stood, following her into the other room. “I wanted to talk to you about something-'' He had barely gotten the words out and there was a loud pop, it sounded just like a gunshot.

Before she knew it, Hailey was on the ground on her back, Jay laying on top of her. “This feels familiar.” She said, trying to lighten the mood. Jay looked up at her, fear showing clearly in his eyes. Hailey immediately softened, reaching out on instinct to cup his face. “Jay, it was just a car backfiring.” 

She watched it click, his face contorting from fear to pure panic. Jay scrambled off her, “Sorry, habit.” He said shyly. He wanted to eat his own foot, he had just tackled her to the ground for no reason and she was being so understanding, it felt like his heart was being out of his chest. 

“It’s fine, really.” Hailey said, genuinely. “As far as bad habits go, instinctively saving people’s lives isn’t a terrible one.” 

Jay smirked, “We already established that I’m a superhero.” 

Hailey grimaced, “I was hoping I dreamt that.” 

Jay shook his head, “Nope, it happened.” He stood, holding out a hand for her. “Talk about an ego boost.” 

Hailey took his hand, “Happy to help.” When she was fully standing up, she couldn’t help but notice how close she was to him. She peered up at him, finding that he was already watching her, he squeezed her hand gently, showing he had no intention of letting it go. “What did you want to talk about?” She asked, trying to keep her cool.

Jay’s confident facade cracked and crumbled in front of her. “Uh, nothing. It wasn’t important.” He said, dropping her hand and taking a step backward. 

Hailey groaned internally, she was so sick of this. They always came so close and then one of them would get scared, she couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m right.” She said softly. “I know I am, if two people are right for each other-” She took a breath, no more games, no more riddles. “If two people are as good together as we are, then nothing else matters.” 

Jay looked at her in shock, she was saying everything he was waiting to hear and part of him was mad at himself making her say it first. “We’re really good together.” She sighed out.

“Yeah.” Hailey said, Jay closed the gap between them, capturing her lips with his. Hailey reacted by grabbing his neck and pulling him closer. Jay’s arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her onto the counter. Hailey wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. 

Jay eventually pulled away, breathless. “Look, you're finally as tall as me.” He said. Hailey rolled her eyes, pushing on his chest, but Jay grabbed her waist, holding her firmly against him. He leaned again, this time kissing her so slow that it was almost painful. 

Hailey bit her lip, “I wish I would have said something a week ago, being trapped in a house together would have been much more interesting.” 

“Yeah.” Jay said, smirking. “You would have been gawking at me from inside the shower instead of outside of it.” 

Hailey blushed, looking down at their intertwined hands. “You’re terrible.” 

“You love it.” He said casually. Hailey’s head snapped up, waiting for him to apologize or back away, she was ready for such a strong word (no matter how much she felt it) to screw this up before it started. Jay caught on, cupping her cheek gently. “Not as much as I love you.” 

Hailey swore she stopped breathing. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

Hailey wasted no time smashing her lips to his, letting her fingers get tangled in his hair. She drug her lips from his to his ear. “I love you too.” Jay grinned against her cheek, pulling her back to his lips. “You wanna try tackling me to the floor again?” She asked, smirking.

“Yes.” He said immediately, pulling her off the counter. Hailey laughed as he lowered them, looks like she wasn’t waking up alone tomorrow and she couldn’t be happier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ask and you shall receive! This one kinda got away from me to be honest, and I have no idea where it fits in the timeline (maybe post new york but pre season 8?), so there’s that. Thanks for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> This got so long, sorry! I really like it though, I haven’t written anything like it. Thank you so much for reading! <3


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